Export duties, commonly known as withholdings, became effective again in Argentina starting in 2002, although with frequent modifications to their rate. Responsible for more than half of national exports, the agroindustry is the main one affected by these taxes, explaining 92% of Argentina’s export duty collection.
The strong tax pressure especially affects Santa Fe, a province with a deep roots in primary activities and agro-industrial transformation. In this sense, The province of Santa Fe bears most of the export duties, and contributes more than 40% of the total collected from these taxes.
Collection from withholdings to agribusiness in 2022 exceeded US$10.75 billion. Of this total, Santa Fe contributed US$4.37 billion. On the one hand, we must highlight that this amount is extracted directly from agroindustrial chains, substantially reducing the income of their participants and, with it, the potential for investment and growth.
On the other hand, the contribution of US$ 4,370 million from Santa Fe in 2022 It implies almost three times the tax collection of the province in 2023. Not satisfied with this, the collection from export duties to Santa Fe agriculture is equivalent to 8 times the spending on security in 2023, 5 times the spending on education and 11 times the spending on health.
If we extend the analysis to the Central Region, and consider Córdoba and Entre Ríos, we will find that these three provinces explain almost two thirds of the collection from export duties. In this sense, 63% of withholdings originate in this region.
Source: BCR
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